Equal Pay Act (1963)
10 July 2006Equal Pay Act (1963), 29 U.S.C. §206(d)
Coverage and Prohibition: The Equal Pay Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and covers the same employers. The Act prohibits an employer from discriminating on the basis of sex by paying persons of one sex less than the wage paid to persons of the opposite sex in the same establishment “for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort and responsibility and which are performed under similar working conditions.” Excepted are wage differentials based on seniority, merit pay, and piecework, and a “differential based on any other factor other than sex.” In addition, the Act does not exempt any employees from its coverage, as the FLSA does.
Enforcement: The Act is administered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), but employees are not required to file a charge with the EEOC before filing suit.
Remedies: A successful complainant may receive back pay for up to two years (or three years if the employer’s violation is willful). The court may award liquidated damages in an amount equal to the back pay. Attorney’s fees also are available to the successful plaintiff. These cases may be tried to a jury.
Regulations:
Department of Labor: Records to be Kept by Employers, 29 C.F.R. Part 516.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”): The Equal Pay Act, 29 C.F.R. Part 1620.
EEOC: The Equal Pay Act — Procedures, 29 C.F.R. Part 1621.
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